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Asbury Park Press

NEPTUNE -- The township agreed to a deal with a joint venture group to redevelop the Headliner nightclub and Sunsets Riverfront Bar and Restaurant on Route 35 into a hotel, two residential buildings, restaurants and retail space called Waterways at Neptune.

The project leaves out the adjoining Neptune Motor Lodge, which at one point was part of the redevelopment effort, so it will continue to sit vacant for now, as it has since it was rendered unusable by a March 2021 storm.

Trip Brooks, a spokesperson for the joint venture North Channel Redevelopment, told the Asbury Park Press that both the Headliner and Sunsets would have to be torn down, potentially after this summer.

The proposed redevelopment includes two residential buildings, with each building consisting of three levels of residences over a parking garage, a 100-room hotel, 800 square feet of retail, a 2,400-square-foot restaurant, and multilevel parking garage consisting of approximately 260 parking spaces. There is also a separate 6,000-square-foot retail building which includes a public rooftop bar, and a separate 5,000-square-foot restaurant.

Waterways at Neptune includes public access to the waterfront, a boardwalk and a fishing pier, as well as an open-air plaza and public promenade, consisting of a paver pathway along the length of the waterfront, and 10 public restrooms.

Initial plans for a similar redevelopment announced in the summer of 2023 included the owner of the former Neptune Motor Lodge.

In March 2021, a powerful storm tore off parts of the roof of that hotel. The damage was caused by straight-line winds between 60 and 70 mph, according to the National Weather Service in Mount Holly.

Residents in the surrounding neighborhood have been in contact with Neptune Township officials looking for something to be done with the hotel 2022, when over two dozen residents met on the street outside the abandoned property with representatives from state Sen. Vin Gopal's office and reporters to highlight the problem.

Now almost four years later, the motel is home to more raccoons than people and will remain untouched as part of this waterfront redevelopment.

Bhaskar Halari, owner of the hotel, dropped out of plans to take part in the redevelopment with the other property owners. Halari told the Press that he still plans to redevelop the motel property, "but by himself" and that he is in talks with the township.

North Channel redevelopment is joint venture between IPG at Waterways LLC aka the Ironbound Property Group, which owns the proposed hotel site; Zekaria Family Ltd. Partnership, which owns the Sunset property on the water; and New York Concourse, which owns the Headliner.

The conditional agreement requires North Channel to reimburse all of the costs and fees incurred by the township in connection with the review of the proposal and the concept plan for Waterways at Neptune, and the preparation and negotiation of a redevelopment agreement, among other such expenses.

The township will negotiate exclusively with North Channel for the redevelopment of the future Waterways at Neptune site, according to the agreement.

North Channel will work to get the project before the township planning board for review and approval.

Charles Daye is the metro reporter for Asbury Park and Neptune, with a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. @CharlesDayeAPP Contact him: CDaye@gannettnj.com

NEPTUNE — Fifty years after the Vietnam War ended, with the U.S. withdrawing troops from the Southeast Asian country, a special parade will be held in one Monmouth County township to honor these brave and courageous Vietnam veterans.

The parade is set for Saturday, March 29 at 11:15 a.m. in Neptune Township.

The special parade to honor the bravery and sacrifice of Vietnam veterans will begin on Neptune Boulevard, and then move along Washington Avenue to the VFW building.

Mayor Robert Lane Jr. told the Asbury Park Press that when he was recently having dinner with 86-year-old Wilbur Martin, the commander of VFW Post #1333 in Neptune, he found out that many Vietnam vets returning home from war were never given a parade or a hero’s welcome.

Martin, who told the mayor he remembered getting spit on instead, began basic training in 1955, served in the military for 19 years, and earned several medals including the Silver Star for gallantry in action, four Bronze Stars, two Purple Hearts, two Air Medals, and the Vietnam Service Medal, the Press reported.

So, Lane decided a parade was long overdue for these heroes. A service will be held at noon followed by a 1 pm lunch on March 29. Lane said he wants to make sure all the veterans are thanked for the sacrifices they’ve made.

Vets from surrounding towns will also join in the parade.

“Let’s come together as a community to pay tribute to their service and reflect on this important moment in history. Everyone is welcome to attend and show their support,” the Neptune Township Facebook page reads.

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NEPTUNE – It was the final rehearsal for the big show.

Neptune and Marlboro were tied at the start of the fourth quarter in a warmup game for the girls basketball state tournament Monday before Neptune went on a 20-8 run to nail down a 61-49 victory. The win was the seventh in the last eight games for the Scarlet Fliers, now 13-11 as they head into Thursday’s NJSIAA first round Central Group 3 tournament home game against Hopewell Valley. Marlboro (11-14) will visit Freehold Township in Central Group 4.

The coaches of both teams said the theme was to prep for the state tourney.

“They’re a good team and we appreciate the opportunity to play games like this,” Neptune coach John Brown said. “We needed to work on our focus throughout the game. Still do. But better to address it now than in the playoffs. This is why we play these games.”

Neptune overcame a turnover-filled first half and received double-digit scoring efforts from Christa Ramos, Bre Evans, Majiah Quarles, and Tyeera Howard to hold off the Mustangs.

“We have a really young team. We wanted to get experience under pressure and there is no better team in the state to do that against than Neptune,” Marlboro coach Brad Hagensen said. “I couldn’t be happier with the way we played. The girls may see it differently with the outcome, but they handled it great.”

Christa Ramos nets 21 for Neptune; Bre Evans goes for 14

After a first half in which the teams combined for 21 turnovers, the score was knotted at 27-27 and again at 41-41 after three quarters. In the fourth, Neptune’s relentless pressure defense and improved ball security proved the difference as it focused on getting to the rim and foul line to close the game out.

Senior guard Ramos was a force at both ends of the floor leading all scorers with 21 points, including a perfect 9-for-9 from the foul line. Ramos also added four rebounds, three steals and three assists. Senior Evans added 14 points and four steals and four assists for the Scarlet Fliers.

“We had a really slow start and we know we can’t let that happen in the playoffs,” Ramos said. “Looking for the extra pass in the fourth quarter worked well for us.”

“And we need to tighten up our defense for the playoffs. That’s our biggest strength,” Evans added.

Howard, Neptune’s freshman forward, contributed 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals in the win while junior Quarles scored 11 to go with five rebounds.

Freshman guard Mackenzie Klatsky led Marlboro with 13 points and four steals and senior Emily Borgen added 10 points and a pair of steals. Senior Brooke Gordon scored eight points while sophomores Nariah Henderson and Maddyn Callow contributed six points apiece.

Neptune girls basketball defeats Marlboro: Game Takeaways

A charter school company with campuses in Asbury Park and Neptune is under investigation by the Office of the State Comptroller following a series of high profile scandals.

The New Jersey Office of the Comptroller — an independent state agency that holds public entities accountable and ensures the responsible use of tax money — is seeking College Achieve Public School's contracts, lease agreements, spending documents, real estate transactions and financial documents, according to a Nov. 15, 2024, subpoena from Acting Comptroller Kevin Walsh.

The comptroller's investigation was first reported by NJ.com.

Previous stories NJ.com and additional stories by The Asbury Park Press highlighted some of issues facing CAPS, including a state legislative hearing that focused often on the school.

College Achieve operates a kindergarten through seventh-grade program in Neptune and an eighth-grade through 12th-grade program at two sites in Asbury Park. The charter school network has additional campuses in Plainfield, North Plainfield and Paterson.

Attorneys for College Achieve have moved to quash the Comptroller's subpoena, arguing that the agency's investigation is too broad, seeks privileged information and that the charter school network is exempt from the agency's oversight because it is a private, not-for-profit organization.

"To be clear, CAPS (College Achieve Public Schools) Inc. is not a charter school. CAPS Inc. is a private entity that operates as a non-profit corporation, and is not a contractor of the State of New Jersey," the attorneys argued in court documents.

New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin disputed that assertion in filings.

In 1995, New Jersey adopted the Charter School Program Act to "offer the potential to improve pupil learning; increase for students and parents the educational choices available… (and) encourage the use of different and innovative learning methods."

Charter schools were excluded from some of the more onerous requirements of public schools, with the expectation that they would deliver superior results at a lower cost with that flexibility.

But critics accused College Achieve Public Schools of taking that flexibility too far last year.

In early 2024, Asbury Park campus officials were accused of recruiting top basketball players from across the state at the expense of serving at-risk students in and around Asbury Park. College Achieve officials said the reality was that many of New Jersey's young NBA hopefuls were applying for the chance to play for the Asbury Park campus's famous basketball coach Dave Boff.

That same year, high administrator salaries of College Achieve were exposed in a NJ.com investigation.

College Achieve's top administrator, CEO and founder Michael Piscal, made $516,084 in the 2022-23 school year with an additional $279,431 in compensation from the school and related organizations, according to 2022 tax filings obtained through GuideStar, an organization that provides information about American nonprofit organizations.

After elected officials in Trenton raised concerns about the high salaries, representatives of the charter school network said Piscal's and other administrator salaries were reduced to better reflect regional compensation.

Last summer, the charter school network faced additional criticism after the former head of the Asbury Park campus and her husband, then the high school principal, were accused of employing relatives and using school money to purchase College Achieve uniforms and apparel from a family business, according to a NJ.com story.

College Achieve officials have since replaced them and restructured their management teams.

It was not immediately clear whether the Comptroller's recent investigation was related to any of these incidents.

Attorney General of New Jersey joins the probe

Platkin filed a motion in court earlier this month in support of the Comptroller's subpoena, saying "any State or public entity or any private vendor that receives funds from a unit in the Executive branch of State government…must provide OSC (the Office of the State Comptroller) with prompt access to all relevant documents and information requested by OSC."

Platkin added that charter schools are still public schools, and are funded through state and local taxes.

"CAPS (College Achieve Public Schools) brandishes its significant role in contributing to the education of New Jersey public school students and its core mission to enhance educational outcomes for students, while simultaneously attempting to distance itself from the oversight of public agencies and public funds… by claiming that it is a private entity not subject to oversight," Patkin wrote.

The case is scheduled to be heard in Monmouth County Superior Court, Freehold, on March 24.

Amanda Oglesby is an Ocean County native who covers education and the environment. She has worked for the Press for more than 17 years. Reach her at @OglesbyAPP, aoglesby@gannettnj.com or 732-557-5701.